Wishful Thinking or Delusion?

Standing in front of me was a metaphor of my fears: a crumbling bridge three feet in front of me. Beyond that was an endless abyss of darkness. There was an unsettling feeling in the air saying, “Will I make it across? What is beyond what I cannot see?” A pair of yellow eyes shone in the pitch black. Oddly, I felt less frightened than before. In the blink of an eye, a hoard of black cats lit the way of the bridge – an overwhelming feeling of comfort and safety pervaded the space around me.

This was taken from a dream four years ago, yet it is freshly displayed in my mind like an exhibit at a museum. It was so strange, yet clairvoyant and symbolic, that it has stamped its impression on my soul. But since this dream, black cats have found their way to me, becoming my guide and unwavering symbol of hope. Oddly enough, I had never even liked cats. 

I don’t know if dreams truly contain cryptic signs or if they’re merely just an addition of our imagination. Nonetheless, that dream awoke something in me. That dream marked the start of my vocation to the undiscovered: my unique spirituality. It was no coincidence I had this dream because, at that time, I had begun to delve into the practice of meditation. 

Meditation became my gateway into my inner world, and that, in turn, became the key to balancing the pressures of my external world as well. Since beginning that practice, I’ve grown a curiosity for these so-called coincidences. For example, since that dream, whenever I have felt anxious, there have been times where I see a black cat shortly after; a sign of reassurance and comfort similar to my dream.  

Are things truly aligning, or am I just lucky?

I believe these synchronicities serve as a way to reaffirm the alignment with yourself, between finding a harmonious rhythm with your values and actions working hand-in-hand. 

I know this won’t make sense for everyone, and I’ve been confronted with snarky remarks and skepticism that signs and dreams are simply illusory. But that is what makes religion, spirituality – whatever you want to call it – so profound: there is no right or wrong. 

Even now, this dream is so vivid and meaningful to me. As I mentioned earlier, I never liked cats and, even worse, black cats. I think it’s ironic how black cats are notorious for being symbols of bad luck and are correlated with witchcraft. But in my case, they masked themselves as a symbol of hope for when I couldn’t see past the vastness of the dark. Figuring out who I am and knowing what fuels me has allowed my internal world to effortlessly mend with my external.

Synchronicity is an ever-present reality for those who have eyes to see.”  - Carl Jung